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In July 2019, the Secretary of War stood up a task force to ensure a coordinated approach on DoW-wide efforts to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Section 2714 of title 10, United States Code codifies the Department of War’s (DoW’s) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Task Force and identifies its members and goals.
The PFAS Task Force is focused on five goals (clicking on each goal below will expand the content area at the bottom of the page).
DoW’s PFAS Task Force is working to address PFAS issues in a cohesive, consistent manner while coordinating and communicating with external stakeholders. The Task Force is working on these efforts in coordination with other Federal agencies to ensure a consistent approach to this national issue. The Task Force has made significant progress toward:
The PFAS Task Force will continue to identify and provide DoW with the tools needed to address the effects of its PFAS releases, and to ensure that the Department continues to protect the health of its Service Members, their families, the DoW civilian workforce, and the communities in which DoW serves.
One of the Department’s priorities is to eliminate the use of AFFF at military installations. DoW has stopped using AFFF for land-based testing or training unless it can be completely contained and disposed, and as of October 2023, no longer purchases AFFF for use on military installations. Additionally, DoW invested significant resources in research to identify PFAS-free substitutes for AFFF that meet the military’s stringent firefighting performance criteria. The NDAA for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Section 322 requires DoW to cease use of AFFF on military installations. Section 322(e) (1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020 (Public Law 116-92) provides that the Secretary of War may extend the prohibition deadline by one year with respect to the use of fluorinated AFFF, pending the submission of a briefing and a written certification. Based on the Military Department’s transition schedules for AFFF replacement, the Department invoked the first of two one-year waivers to extend the October 1, 2024 statutory deadline to cease AFFF use. The first briefing was provided in June 2024, and on August 2, 2024, the Secretary of War provided Congress with certification of the waiver, after which the deadline for the prohibition of use of AFFF on military installations was initially extended to October 1, 2025. The second briefing was provided and a waiver extension was granted in 2025, extending the prohibition deadline to October 1, 2026.
Click the links for briefing and certification to view the May 2025 briefing to extend the deadline, and the Secretary of War certification of the waiver provided to Congress on July 31, 2025.
The Department of the Navy led the creation of the new military specification (MILSPEC) to provide a direct replacement for AFFF used in existing DoW firefighting systems. The creation of the MILSPEC involved major stakeholders from across the DoW and included a broad technical review by other federal agencies, state governments, representatives of the firefighting foam manufacturing industry, civil aviation stakeholders, research scientists from industry and academia, private consultants, and professional organizations from the firefighting community. The resultant Military Performance-based Specification (MIL-PRF) -32725 “FIRE EXTINGUISHING AGENT, FLUORINE-FREE FOAM (F3) LIQUID CONCENTRATE, FOR LAND-BASED, FRESH WATER APPLICATIONS” was published on January 6, 2023.
The transition to fluorine-free foam (F3) began in September 2023 and F3 is already in use at some DoW installations. The Department is committed to replacing AFFF with fluorine-free alternatives (such as F3s, water-sprinkler systems, and other engineering-based technologies) and has begun the transition process in more than 6,000 mobile assets and approximately 1,000 facilities. Additional F3 products are undergoing qualification testing to meet DoW MILSPEC standards and the Department continues funding for research, demonstration, and validation projects aimed at improving the firefighting performance of F3 agents.
Addressing DoW’s PFAS releases is at the core of the Department’s commitment to protect the health and safety of its Service members, their families, the DoW civilian workforce, and the communities in which DoW serves. The DoW PFAS Task Force has developed policy and direction to ensure DoW’s actions are consistent across the military departments in fulfilling its PFAS cleanup responsibility. These policies provide guidance for addressing releases to the environment from DoW activities as required by the Federal cleanup law (i.e., the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA)).
DoW fully investigates a potential release and determines the appropriate cleanup actions based on risk and prioritizes cleanup in communities with the highest risk of exposure. There are currently more than 700 installations where DoW or the National Guard may have used or potentially released PFAS. DoW is performing Preliminary Assessments/Site Inspections (PA/SIs) at these installations. The PA/SI is the first phase of the cleanup process and may take one to three years to complete. See the progress and status of PFAS investigations here.
With support from the Task Force, DoW recently issued guidance to the military departments to expedite cleanup actions by implementing interim actions to address PFAS migration from DoW installations and National Guard facilities. Examples of interim cleanup actions include removal of soil “hot spots” and installation of groundwater extraction systems to mitigate further PFAS plume migration or impacts to groundwater from an on-base PFAS source area.
PFAS in Drinking Water Off-base: DoW conducts sampling of drinking water off-base to ensure the Department identifies potential impacts of PFAS resulting from DoW activities. Off-base drinking water includes non-DoW drinking water systems and private wells located outside the installation boundary. DoW is working to integrate the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) values established in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) into its cleanup process. DoW established policy on September 3, 2024 to ensure a coordinated approach to prioritizing appropriate cleanup actions based on risk. Where DoW is the known source of PFAS, DoW will initiate interim actions to address private drinking water wells impacted by PFAS from DoW activities where concentrations are known to be at or above three times the MCL values (i.e., PFOA = 12 ppt; PFOS = 12 ppt; PFHxS = 30 ppt; GenX = 30 ppt; PFNA = 30 ppt; HI = 3). This approach prioritizes action where PFAS levels from DoW releases are the highest, rather than delay action at these locations while ongoing remedial investigations continue. To expedite implementation of more enduring solutions, DoW will focus on sustainable solutions including providing connections to municipal systems; installing whole house treatment systems; and providing point of use treatment systems.
DoW is providing the final testing results for off-base drinking water located in “covered areas” in accordance with Section 345 of the NDAA for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. Covered areas, as defined by Section 345, are locations in the United States that are adjacent to and down gradient from a military installation, Formerly Used Defense Site, or National Guard facility. DoW’s final testing results are posted here. As of the end of second quarter of FY 2023, DoW has posted 337 final drinking water reports. These reports included over 7,000 sampling results. Additional information on DoW’s efforts to monitor and address PFAS in drinking water can be found here.
PFAS in Drinking Water On-base DoW continues to test and monitor PFAS in DoW owned and operated drinking water systems on installations. DoW has taken action at locations where on-base drinking water exceeded 70 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS and PFOA.
On April 26, 2024, the EPA published a final federal National Primary Drinking Water Regulation establishing drinking water standards for certain PFAS under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This rule applies to public drinking water systems. EPA’s drinking water rule includes enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) for five PFAS. It also includes a Hazard Index (HI) MCL for mixtures of certain PFAS. The rule provides five years for regulated public water systems to comply. The Department is collecting the necessary sampling information and is taking actions to ensure compliance within the required 5-year timeframe.
DoW’s 2026 “Interim Guidance on Destruction or Disposal of Materials Containing Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the United States,” reflects changes in technology maturity, updates to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PFAS destruction and disposal guidance, additional data, as well as to meet both section 330 of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act and section 324 of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. This updated PFAS interim guidance helps the military components make informed decisions in the evaluation of existing and more recently commercialized PFAS destruction and disposal options. This guidance applies only to the military components and identifies the considerations the DoW components will follow before disposing of PFAS-containing materials. It directs the DoW components to dispose of or destroy PFAS using options with the most stringent controls where an environmental regulator has issued a permit for the facility. This guidance is interim because it will be updated periodically as new information becomes available on PFAS destruction and disposal technologies and to ensure consistency with updates to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) PFAS destruction and disposal guidance.
The science on PFAS is evolving. There is extensive research being done to determine where PFAS exist and what impact they have on human health and the environment. DoW continues to monitor research efforts and health risk information to better understand potential health effects of PFAS exposure. DoW is supporting scientific health research and has provided $90 million to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to conduct a multi-site health study and exposure assessments in the communities around eight current and former military installations.
The DoW performs annual occupational exams that include offering PFAS blood testing to its Active-duty military, Reserves, and DoW civilian employee firefighters, and is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to determine whether career fields, beyond firefighters, may have occupational PFAS exposures. DoW issued policy and procedures for implementation of firefighter blood testing in September 2020 and PFAS blood testing is part of their annual exams.
DoW has also supported efforts to:
The Task Force supports ongoing outreach activities that involve coordinating and collaborating with Federal agencies and communicating to the public, Congress, and other stakeholders about the Department’s efforts to find an alternative to Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), understand and address the impacts to human health from PFAS, and clean up PFAS releases caused by past DoW activities. These outreach activities include:
The Task Force is supporting these outreach activities to ensure open and consistent coordination and communication inside and outside DoW on its efforts to address PFAS. Additionally, the DoW Components continue to engage with the public, Congress, and other stakeholders on site-specific PFAS matters.
The Department is focused on research to identify technologies that can be implemented to expedite the cleanup of DoW’s PFAS releases and an alternative to aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF). DoW’s Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) funded more than 170 projects since 2011 addressing the management of PFAS in the environment, as well as the development of PFAS-free alternatives to AFFF.
Overall, DoW supports over 200 technology development and demonstration projects, including studies about:
DoW has invested over $160 million through FY 2022 with another $60 million planned through Fiscal Year 2025 with SERDP and ESTCP to advance technologies to expedite the cleanup process. DoW publishes summaries of its ongoing PFAS projects and final reports on the SERDP and ESTCP website. Additionally, SERDP and ESTCP post summaries of their workshops and planning meetings as well as tools and trainings on the website.